When you hear of San Francisco, California, you often think of cable cars, steep city streets and the Golden Gate Bridge. Completed in 1933 this structure is a monument to the engineering skills and courage of its builders. It is a symbol of national strength and pride.

Did you know that the bridge is supported by cables containing thousands of individual strands of wire. By themselves these wires are not very strong and certainly could not bear the massive weight of the bridge. However, woven together and wrapped with other strands of wire they possess the strength necessary for suspending the roadway which stretches 1.7 miles across the bay.

What is true of that massive structure is also true of life. By ourselves we are like a single strand of wire. Our strength and capability is severely limited. When we unite with others and work together, however, our combined efforts produce massive strength. In the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey describes a phenomenon known as “synergy.”

Synergy is the working together of two things to produce a result greater than the sum of their individual effects. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "working together." For the sake of illustration consider that two horses may individually be able to pull a wagon weighing 500 pounds. Together they can pull a wagon that weighs even more than the sum of their individual efforts (1000 pounds) and can pull a wagon weighing 1200 pounds. There is encouragement, motivation and strength when we work together. This is why there is effectiveness in groups of people who work together to achieve a common purpose.

By working together we find strength to support a family, build a strong community and live a successful life. The writer of Ecclesiastes said it like this, “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Eccl. 4:12).

Think of the bridges we can build in life if we will work together instead of pulling apart.